Back in the days when cars had style, and even with so manymakes and models, all changing every year, they made a profit.

And, not only that . .

But one could sit on the porch and name the cars as they drove by . . unlike today . . .. when they all look the same .

This is when a car was a car.....

Some of these Photos have been e-mailed to me and some taken from the Internet. If you are the original owner of a Copyright and object the publishing, please contact me and I will take the photo off this page. But please remember this is a non-profit site purely for the enjoyment of all Automobile Brand's Of The Past.., enthusiasts.

Sunday, June 21, 2009

The Studebaker Power Hawk was only available for the 1956 model. At this time Packard and Studebaker were still one company. This car had the Studebaker Commander engine and it produced 185 horsepower with this V8 engine. This car weighed over 3,000 pounds and had a sticke price of around $2,100.

This car was replaced by the Silver Hawk in the 1957 model year.

Some of these Photos have been e-mailed to me and some taken from the Internet. If you are the original owner of a Copyright and object the publishing, please contact me and I will take the photo off this page. But please remember this is a non-profit site purely for the enjoyment of all Automobile Brand's Of The Past.., enthusiasts.

As 1 of only 420 Speedsters built in the Los Angeles, CA (Vernon) plant, this is indeed one of the rarest of the rare.

This car was Studebaker's answer to the Corvette & Thunderbird with a twist, this car's a 4 seater. It was designed to compete with the 'Vette & Bird, but to appeal to sports car/hot rod enthusiasts with kids. 1955 was the only year for the Speedster; in 1956 Studebaker took a slightly different approach with introduction of the Golden Hawk.

Some of these Photos have been e-mailed to me and some taken from the Internet. If you are the original owner of a Copyright and object the publishing, please contact me and I will take the photo off this page. But please remember this is a non-profit site purely for the enjoyment of all Automobile Brand's Of The Past.., enthusiasts.

Monday, June 15, 2009

A term I haven't heard in a long time and thinking about "fender skirts" started me thinking about other words that quietly disappear from our language with hardly a notice: Like "curb feelers" and "steering knobs." (AKA) suicide knob.

Since I'd been thinking of cars, my mind naturally went that direction first. Any kids will probably have to find some elderly person over 50 to explain some of these terms to you.

Remember "Continental kits?" They were rear bumper extenders and spare tire covers that were supposed to make any car as cool as a Lincoln Continental.

When did we quit calling them "emergency brakes?" At some point "parking brake" became the proper term. But I miss the hint of drama that went with "emergency brake."

I'm sad, too, that almost all the old folks are gone who would call the accelerator the "foot feed."

Didn't you ever wait at the street for your daddy to come home, so you could ride the "running board" up to the house?

Here's a phrase I heard all the time in my youth but never anymore - "store-bought." Of course, just about everything is store-bought these days. But once it was bragging material to have a store-bought dress or a store-bought bag of candy.

"Coast to coast" is a phrase that once held all sorts of excitement and now means almost nothing. Now we take the term "world wide" for granted. This floors me.

On a smaller scale, "wall-to-wall" was once a magical term in our homes. In the '50s, everyone covered his or her hardwood floors with, wow, wall-to-wall carpeting! Today, everyone replaces their wall-to-wall carpeting with hardwood floors. Go figure.

When's the last time you heard the quaint phrase "in a family way?" It's hard to imagine that the word "pregnant" was once considered a little too graphic, a little too clinical for use in polite company So we had all that talk about stork visits and "being in a family way" or simply"expecting."

Apparently "brassiere" is a word no longer in usage. I said it the other day and my daughter cracked up. I guess it's just "bra" now "Unmentionables" probably wouldn't be understood at all.

I always loved going to the "picture show," but I considered "movie" an affectation. Most of these words go back to the '50s, but here's a pure-'60s word I came across the other day - "rat fink." Ooh, what a nasty put-down!

Here's a word I miss - "percolator." That was just a fun word to say. And what was it replaced with? "Coffee maker." How dull. Mr. Coffee, I blame you for this.

I miss those made-up marketing words that were meant to sound so modern and now sound so retro. Words like "DynaFlow" and "Electrolux." Introducing the 1963 Admiral TV, now with "SpectraVision!"

Food for thought - Was there a telethon that wiped out lumbago? Nobody complains of that anymore. Maybe that's what castor oil cured, because I never hear mothers threatening kids with castor oil anymore.

Some words aren't gone, but are definitely on the endangered list. The one that grieves me most "supper." Now everybody says "dinner." Save a great word. Invite someone to supper. Discuss fender skirts.

Sunday, June 14, 2009

Borgward was a German automobile manufacturer founded by Carl F. W. Borgward (November 10, 1890 - July 28, 1963). The company was based in Bremen. The Borgward group eventually produced cars with the four brands Borgward, Hansa, Goliath and Lloyd.

Borgward Hansa 1500 of 1952

Borgward Hansa 1500 Sportcoupé (1954)

Borgward

Isabella TS Deluxe

Borgward P100 with air spring

Borgward B4500 (1957)

Blitzkarren

The first "automobile" Carl Borgward designed was the Blitzkarren (i.e. lightning cart, a sort of tiny three-wheeled van with only two horsepower (1.5 kW), which was, in the gap in the market it filled, an enormous success. Traders with a small budget bought it for delivery. The Reichspost ordered many of them for postal service.

Hansa Lloyd

In 1929 Borgward became the director of Hansa Lloyd AG and led the development of the Hansa Konsul. In February 1937 came the new Hansa Borgward 2000 and in 1939 the name was shortened to Borgward 2000. The 2000 model was followed by the Borgward 2300that remained in production until 1942. After World War II the company presented the Borgward Hansa 1500. One of the top engineers at Borgward between 1938 and 1952 was Dipl. Ing. Hubert M. Meingast.

Isabella and P100

Production of the Borgward Isabella began in 1954. The Isabella would become Borgward's most popular model and remained in production for the life of the company. In 1959 the Borgward P100 was introduced, with its impressive pneumatic suspension.

Sports racers

Borgward introduced a line of 1500 cc sports racers in the late 1950s, with the 16-valve engine from these becoming a successful Formula Two power unit (which was also used by some F1 privateers in 1961).

Financial problems

Financial problems appeared because Carl Borgward allowed the different makes to act independently, practicing no joint development or sharing of parts. While Borgward pioneered technical novelties in the German market such as air suspension and automatic transmission, the four makes competed against companies like Opel and VW that increased production yearly and lowered prices. Borgward suffered quality problems as well. The Lloyd Arabella was technically advanced as a water-cooled boxer with front wheel drive, but plagued with problems such as water leakage and gearbox glitches. Although Lloyd lost money on the car it was more expensive than the direct competitors.

Liquidation

In 1961 the company was forced into liquidation by creditors though Carl Borgward insisted the company was solvent. Events proved him right and all the creditors were fully paid off. In 1963 all manufacturing equipment for the Borgward Isabella and P100 was sold to Mexico. In July 1963 Carl Borgward died, two years after his company went bankrupt.

The German magazine Der Spiegel reports in 1965 that, with a little help, the Borgward company could have easily overcome its problems in 1961. Apparently the company didn't have to go bankrupt at all.

Production in Mexico

The start of production in Mexico was delayed, but was eventually begun in 1967 by the entrepreneur Gregorio Ramirez Gonzalez. Production in Mexico ceased in 1970.

Some of these Photos have been e-mailed to me and some taken from the Internet. If you are the original owner of a Copyright and object the publishing, please contact me and I will take the photo off this page. But please remember this is a non-profit site purely for the enjoyment of all Lloyd enthusiasts.

Thursday, June 4, 2009

This is a 1967 Champion Land Cruiser by Custom Coach Corporation. Custom Coach built this coach using a Champion Carriage chassis and Flxible front and rear caps. They did this because they wanted a coach with an air ride suspension. Flxible buses did not have air ride at the time. This one looks like a Flxible Hi-Level. This coach is powered by a 534cid. Ford industrial gasoline V8 and an Allison 6-speed automatic transmission. It has air brakes, an 8 bag air ride suspension and an air horn. The fuel tank holds 150 gallons of gas. Next to the engine is a 12.5 KW Kohler gas generator. There is also a heavy cord for shore power. The exterior features includes tan Sherwin Williams paint, thick aluminum front and rear bumpers, awnings for all of the side windows, corrugated stainless steel sides, trailer hitch, backup camera, two luggage bays for storage and two 5 gallon propane cylinders. The holding tanks includes an 80 fresh water tank and a 100 gallon gray/black tank. The hot water heater is electric. The interior is mostly white and pink. The ceiling is white vinyl with white diamond pattern vinyl towards the front. The wallpaper is white and pink. There is pink carpeting throughout. The bedroom has a walk around queen bed, TV table and plenty of drawers and cabinets. Next to that are two closets. The kitchen has a 3 burner stove with oven, a microwave, double sink, Dometic refrigerator and also plenty of cabinets. There are also two roof air conditioners, two vents, Fan-Tastic fan, three electric heaters and a propane forced air ducted heater. The front has a couch bed, single couch and dinette with folding leaves. There is also a removable table that has a map of the US on the top. It stows in a small closet. The passenger seat swivels around for use with the dinette. The light fixture in the center of the coach is a set of four glass squares. The other fixtures are metal cones. The cone fixtures run on 12 volts and the rest on 120 volts. There is fluorescent lighting throughout as well. The bathroom has a combination of yellow, orange, brown and silver wallpaper. It has a lavatory, shower stall and toilet. There is a really cool glass rod light fixture in there as well as metal cone fixtures. This is a nice example of a well-made 60's motor coach.